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The British Invasion

Filed under: Imported

Manchester United completed its four-city  tour of the U.S. yesterday, christening Philadelphia's Lincoln Financial Field with a 3-1 victory over Spanish powerhouse Barcelona. Despite attracting crowds of 65,000-plus in three of four cities (Los Angeles being the exception), the soccer showcases generated little media attention outside of the host cities. Granted, these were friendly matches with absolutely nothing on the line, but do we really need further illumination of Kobe's appearance at the 2003 Teen Choice Awards.

Then again, the media coverage hasn't been nearly as inept as the Brits would lead you to believe. As usual, the Fleet Street hacks have been oozing disdain for this country's soccer philistines. Guardian columnist Paul MacInness went so far as to swoon condescendingly over the fact that The New York Times devoted a full 700 words to Man U.'s match with Juventus at the Meadowlands, heralding this coverage as a watershed mark in American soccer history. MacInness conveniently ignores the fact that the same day's paper also featured a column by George Vecsey (a devoted soccer scribe) about the game and that the Times routinely provides stellar coverage of the New York/New Jersey Metrostars and the U.S. national teams. (Jere Longman wrote a whole freakin' book about the women's side.)

The Guardian also hired Jamie Trecker--an incessant critic of Major League Soccer and world-class footy snob--to cover the tour. Here's Trecker's bizarre clunker of an opening:

After three days in nearby Portland, home of their main sponsor, Nike, Manchester United check in to Seattle .

Portland was something of an ironic destination: Nike, of course, is the epitome of the global marketing of health and fitness, but the city itself is best known for having the United States' highest per capita suicide rate. It rains all the time and alcoholism is endemic in the Pacific Northwest, along with a particularly insidious vein of heroin addiction. There is also an incredible array of strip clubs, some of which the players have allegedly enjoyed.

Trecker then spends a good chunk of the piece making fun of the ignorant American boobs dispatched by local newspapers to cover the games. If you can wade through the pompous barbs, his account does provides a smattering of interesting anecdotes, both about the team and the press corps.

My favorite piece about the Man U. tour, though, was written by Philadelphia Inquirer columnist Bob Ford, who traveled to Manchester in order to gain perspective on the team's global reach, marketing savvy and on-field success. Ford provides an engaging primer on the team's storied and tragic history, while also exploring its current perch as the most celebrated club--economically if not quite competitively--in the history of soccer.

Posted by Paul Demko at August 4, 2003 12:37 PM

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